The present invention relates to a method of charging coking ovens, and in particular to a method of charging a plurality of coking ovens which are arranged in a horizontal row.
Coke is usually produced in upright coking ovens which are arranged side-by-side in form of a row or battery. Each coking oven has an upper end provided with a charging hole that can be closed by a cover and through which coal is admitted into the coking oven for conversion into coke.
Various approaches are known in the prior art for charging the ovens with coal. The conventional way is by means of a larry car that travels on top of the coke oven row in a longitudinal direction and is provided with charging hoppers. Another proposal was made in U.S. Pat. No. 3,707,237 of Erich Wiemer which provides for connecting the outlet of a coal tower, bunker or an arrangement for preheating of coal with the coke ovens of a coke oven row or battery by means of a scraper conveyor and outlets which receive coal from the conveyor and discharge into the charging holes of the respective ovens. The scraper conveyor and its outlet or outlets are sealed against the ambient atmosphere to prevent the escape of charging gases that evolve during the charging of the respective ovens. To transport the coal to the respective outlets the scraper conveyor drags coal up to the respective outlet. When residual coal remains in the lower run during a change of charging from one to the next-following oven, and is transported along during charging of the next-following oven, in a direction towards the chain-reversing drum of the conveyor, this residual coal is to be transported by the chain-reversing drum from the lower run onto the upper run. There is also an alternative arrangement provided which effects this transportation from the lower run to the upper run in lieu of the drum.
However, while this proposal represents an improvement over the charging by means of a larry car, further improvements in the state of this art are still desirable.